News

City News Round-Up

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Dancing Into Trouble
The Prescott Police Department made 28 arrests during the various 4th of July events that were held during the week. A majority of the arrests occurred around the rodeo dance held in the parking lot of the M&I Bank at Sheldon and Montezuma Streets and the Granite Creek Park area. A total of eleven DUI arrests were made.

Fully Staffed At Last
Officer Dan Smith successfully completed motorcycle training and is now a certified motor officer assigned to the Traffic Safety Section. This Section is now fully staffed for the first time in over a year.

Movies Premier at Elk's Opera House
For the first time in nearly 30 years the Elk's Opera House will present a movie. The "Monsoon Matinee" is "free of charge" to the public. To get tickets, just stop by the Elk's and request one. The movie, entitled "Singin' in the Rain" and starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds will be shown on Sunday, August 10th at 1:00 PM. Doors open at 12:30 PM. Donations will be gratefully accepted.

Fish Anyone?
Manzanita Grille: SUSHI NIGHT IS BACK! Due to popular demand, Chef Joel Sugahara has brought back SUSHI NIGHT to the Manzanita Grille every Thursday evening starting at 4:00 PM. Don't forget the "all you can eat" fish fry every Friday for $9.99, and Prime Rib Saturdays.

Prescott Dust Busters
Field Operations has just completed the annual dust abatement project, placing asphalt millings on our unpaved streets. This year we were able to pave eight lane miles with this product to include four alleys, making a total of almost eleven lane miles paved with millings since the inception of the program. While this project is still in its pilot stage, we are experiencing great success with it. These roads will be chip-sealed within the next couple of months, extending the serviceable life of the rejuvenated pavement.

Money Saving & Recycling
The Solid Waste Division operates an inert debris landfill where the most often deposited material is concrete. We have just ground up about 1300 tons of concrete into a material that is already being used around the City, saving money on various projects. This program is just another way the City of Prescott has improved local recycling opportunities.

Prescott Receives National Attention
The City of Prescott has been selected by the Arizona Republic Custom Publishing Division to be featured as a "City on the Move" in the September/October issue of BizAZ Magazine. The Economic Development Division is working with the editorial team to create a special marketing piece that focuses on why Prescott is a great place to do business. The insert will be a minimum of 16 pages and could be as much as 24 pages. The City plans to purchase cost overruns for the special supplement. This will provide the Economic Development Department, as well as others, with a high quality marketing and promotional piece. The Communications Department is assisting us with the content and visuals required for the piece.

On the Horizon
The City will also be the cover story for the Horizon Airline's in-flight magazine geared to west coast tourists. Economic Development reviewed the content and provided information for this article.

Statewide T.V. coverage
The PBS television station Channel 8's program "Horizon" (not to be confused with the Airline) is shooting footage and conducting interviews regarding the area's growth. In fact, Mayor Jack Wilson was interviewed for a segment of the show. No word yet on when the program will air.

The Arizona Highways TV Show is also going to profile Prescott in an upcoming segment and have been looking around for unique restaurants, lodging and retail.

Hail to the Chief!
Emergency Services Director Darrell Willis for the past week assisted the Director of Fire and Aviation of Region 5 prepare with coordination of the July 17th visit of our Commander in Chief and other White House Staff members. Darrell said the visit came and went in a flash and, ever the diplomat; he elected to stay in the background so that the U.S. Forest Service executives could get up close. In his words, "this is their party and they deserve a huge amount of credit". On Friday and Saturday the Secretary's of Agriculture and Interior arrive in Redding to view the fire areas. Darrell is assisting with the coordination and logistics of the flights of the two Secretaries and two US Representatives whose districts cover those fire areas. As of yesterday 68 fires are still burning, and 18,000 firefighters deployed. Looks like some of fires will burn until September. Darrell did not mention any Schwarzenegger sightings.

Movies in the Park
Effective August 1, 2008, Arizona Mobile Cinemas will be going out of business. The last date for Movies at the Park will be Saturday, July 26. The movie for the night is "Firehouse Dog" and will be shown at Watson Lake. There will be vendors and bounce castles.

A Little Rain Cannot Stop our Fun
The monsoons haven't stopped us from coming out to the Courthouse to enjoy music and dancing, courtesy of the Summer Courthouse Entertainment. Mark your calendars for August 19, when the band Swing Shift takes the stage with special guest Toni Tennille of Captain and Tennille.

The Deal On Chip Seal
FY 2009 chip seal project design completed. Numerous residential streets in North Central Prescott will get updated chip sealing, which will extend the pavement life. The project also includes repairs to various pavement failures citywide.

Roads to Bounce On?
A friction course of rubberized asphalt pavement will be placed on Willow Lake Road as well as Ruth and Whipple Streets. The project includes construction of a French drain on Ruth Street to alleviate an existing groundwater problem.

Citizens Love the Parking
Since the June completion of the reconfiguration of parking on Marina Street citizens have enjoyed available parking spaces and filled them daily. The finished product looks great and is making for smiling faces everywhere!